FrostBitten Love
by SilverMoonFlames
Summary: "Just go,Lee,I don't need you or anyone else's support! All you guys do is tell me to forget him! Well,I can't! I'm sorry but I just can't!" She let the tears fall freely,now. The wind picked up again and she shivered,waiting for it pass over... oneshot


**Disclaimer: Don't own anything Naruto whatsoever. Unfortunately... :'( Freshly edited and everything!  
**

She ambled into the forest absentmindedly, somewhat confused but for no real reason. It was only October and snow storms were already common in the the Kinko forest. In fact, it was starting to get awfully cold now.

It was midnight and Sakura couldn't sleep. Again. She had been restless for weeks now...Just a month ago Sasuke had left, breaking her heart and leaving her torn and lost. Days of unwarned silence were common for her, and weight loss started to plague her. After four straight days of sulking in her room, the entire village was involved and worried about her. Finally, though, she got sick of the overbearing attention and feigned happiness, pretending she had gotten over him and was fine, trying to keep everyone from worrying so much. But on the inside she still shed tears that would never dry. So for the last few weeks she would get up in the middle of the night and stroll through the forest, where no one could find her and she could think, or sing, or cry. Or all three.

Sakura was at about the heart of the woods, now, having traveled a little deeper than usual tonight. She wondered absent-mindedly past a thick wall of brush, and into a wet, grassy clearing.

Every night she would cry her heart out, so alone and sad and fed up with the pain, but feeling too bad to do anything about it. But tonight she felt...different...much different. She felt a hundred times worse. Pains ate at her heart, and she wanted to just die...if she couldn't have Sasuke, she didn't want anybody.

She just couldn't take it anymore...she wanted him back...and soon...no one else would ever have a place in her heart like _he _did...or so she thought...she so clung to.

Sakura sat down under an oak and hugged herself as a cold, dry wind slung her hair into her face annoyingly. She only looked down and let steady streams of tears mourn Sasuke...and her wonderful friends...that had always been there for her...that had tried so desperately to get her to be happy again...to forget the joy Sasuke had always brought her, whether or not she showed it...she only wished she could repay them for their unmerited kindness...but she knew the only real way to do that was to truly be happy...and give up on Sasuke...and she knew in her heart she couldn't do that...

So she cried.

She did all there was left to do...she would cry...and sing the song that would always remind her of Sasuke...

_Thousand Miles...by Vanessa Carlton..._

"Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces passed, and I'm homebound...  
Staring blankly ahead, just making my way, making my way, through the cro-ow-owds...  
...And I need you...And I miss you...And now I won-der..."

She paused, sniffled, and continued.

"If I could fall...into the sky...  
Do you think time...would pass me by?  
Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles,  
if I could just see you...tonight..."

She let giant, heartbroken tears plow into the ground, which was when she started to wonder if it would get cold enough to freeze...

"It's always times like these when I think of you,  
I wonder if you ev-er think of me-e..."

An image of Sasuke etched itself into her throbbing head.

"Cause everything's so wrong,  
And I don't belong,  
Living in your precious mem-o-ries..."

She thought of her long-suffering friends...Naruto...Ino...Hinata...Lee...all the people that cared so much about her, and only wanted to see her precious smile planted genuinely on her face again...Naruto that tried ever so desperately to cheer her up...Hinata...the two were now a couple...Ino and Chouji had also found love in each other...Neji and Tenten...Shikamaru and Temari...It seemed everyone had a lover except Lee...and her,of course...  
Her enchanting voice rang out with so much feeling it hurt her...

"Cause I need you...  
And I miss you...  
And now I won-der..."

"If I could fall...into the sky...  
Do you think time...would pass me by?  
Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles,  
if I could just see you...tonight..."

She directed her longing gaze to the star-lit sky...her frown deepened as she saw clouds rolling in...snow clouds...and they didn't look just threatening...she shook it off, the words of the song she sang so deeply memorized she didn't have to think about them.

"And I-I...I-I...don't want to let you know...  
I-I...I-I...drown in your mem-o-ry...  
I-I...I-I...don't want to let this go...  
I-I...I-I...don't..."

Her shoulders shook as she dropped her head and sobbed harder...the emotions tearing inside of her were killing her...another gust of wind came, making her wish she had brought her jacket...her skirt flapped against her thigh...she squeezed her legs, trying to claw out her own feelings before they destroyed her...or what's left of her...the wind blew harder, as if sensing her unbearable pain...it suddenly got a whole lot colder...Her voice dropped dramatically.

"Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces past and I'm homebound...  
Staring blankly ahead, just making my way, making my way, through the cro-ow-owds...  
And I still need you...  
And I still miss you...  
And now I won-der..."

She shook her head, trying to empty herself of the images that were forcing their way into her mind...she grit her teeth and continued with more feelings flowing into her voice...

"If I could fall...into the sky..."

Images...

"Do you think time...would pass us...by? Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles, if I could just see you...oh-oh-oh-oh..."

Oh, the filthy images that made her die a little more on the inside...her voice rose and she screamed her intoxicating fury to the heavens...

"If I could fa-all, into the sky...do you think time, would pass me by?  
Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles, if I could just see you...  
If I could just _hold_ you...tonight..."

She dipped her head again and sobbed harder than ever...pouring every ounce of her soul into liquid pain, dripping down her face and freezing on the ground...

"I don't love him...I hate him!...I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" she screamed between sobs. "I don't love him, anymore!" she tried to tell herself that, but on the inside she couldn't help but doubt herself.

The wind picked up again and she shivered, waiting for it pass over...

But it didn't...

It seemed to just get harder...and colder...she just sat, though, not fully noticing...

Suddenly a figure jumped down from the trees...it stood in a crouch for a second, then made its way over to her...she quickly turned and started wiping her tears that wouldn't stop no matter how hard she tried to tell them to...

"Sakura-san...are-...are you crying?"

She just sat, turned away from his concerned face, and shook her head for no real reason.

"Lee...I-...I'm okay...please go..."

"I heard you singing...you do not sound okay..."

"Just go away, Lee! I didn't ask for your help," she snapped, but wished she hadn't. Lee was her best friend, the one that always heard her out when the others would give up on her.

"I know, Sakura-san, but I cannot just let you sit here..." he said helplessly.

"Just go, Lee, I don't need you or anyone else's support! All you guys do is tell me to forget him! Well, I can't! I'm sorry, but I just can't!"

She let the tears fall freely now.

He gently took her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. She stared longingly with emerald eyes into his black ones...as if she expected him to have some sort of solution to all her misery.

"Y-...you heard me singing?" she whispered to change the subject.

"Sakura-san, you do not have to forget him...just please do not treat him like someone who has reason to do such a thing to you when he is not even here."

She looked down in shame, for she knew what he said was true despite her own thoughts. He picked up her chin and gazed into her eyes, taking a thumb and wiping a tear away. Oddly, she found her stomach do a flip.

"I know I have not acted like it lately...avoiding you after we talk, and having to leave a room that you are in...it is because I cannot handle you being so sad and heartbroken...but I still love you, Sakura-san...and you do not have to love me back...I just want you to be happy. And this...is not happy..." He said, face completely somber.

She trembled as more steady drifts of wind froze the tears on her red cheeks. Lee noticed and turned a little.

"We should get out of the cold. It is not good for you."

She was about to protest when a downpour of rain spattered down on her. She slung up her hands to keep the steadily freezing snow from pounding her head and worsening her headache. Lee, too, was alarmed and held Sakura close as they both raced through the trees trying to find a temporary shelter. The wind picked up faster and bearing more menacing snow and hail, turning slowly but surely into a snow storm. Sakura only sighed and continued to let her lead legs carry her with Lee, who covered her head as best he could. Soon they could barely stand up straight against the painful onslaught, and Lee noticed Sakura begin to cringe and weaken. He made a split-second decision and made her sit under a giant magnolia, but the shelter wasn't much against the weather, so Lee draped his seldom used jacket around her and held her protectively, shielding her from the elements. She leaned on him absent-mindedly for support. Fatigue began to wear on her from lack of sleep and the energy she had to expend to keep from being plowed by the storm. She shivered again and opened her eyes to see Lee taking what she probably should be facing...his eyes were shut painfully as hail and harsh winds pelted his back...she was suddenly full of concern and guilt.

"Lee-san..."

He looked up and gave a weak, reassuring smile. She didn't smile back, only frowned in concern.

"Sakura-chan...I will always...be there for you...when you are in need...a promise...I continue to keep..."

She still frowned and dug down into the jacket. Then wrapped her arms around Lee in an affectionate hug not just to show her gratitude but to help warm him...he couldn't return the gesture because his were planted painfully on the ground, heaving himself up above Sakura to shield her.

The only thing that could enter her head now was why Lee would do such a thing for her...although he had just basically told her...

He cringed again as a giant chunk of hail pelted his back, as if punishment for loving an unattainable girl. She looked on with big, shocked eyes as he took all that came at him, a purpose written in silver ink firm in his head. She admired him...a sudden feeling that tended to appear in her emotions, now...

For hours it seemed to last, with no sign of stopping. They could also not tell whether it was daylight yet, or not. Sakura felt bad for Lee, for dragging him there with her senseless sadness, but a sense of strong respect welled up inside her for him.

After about half an hour of torture, Lee's arms gave out and he just sat by Sakura, facing the strong winds, his arms now protectively around her. Sakura was still cold, her limbs beginning to numb. Their breaths came out in pure white puffs, and Lee could only pray that he kept her safe.

After another hour passed and they didn't bother to try to make their long way back home, for then they would surely freeze to death, they were welded to the ground, only depending on each other for warmth.

Lee looked to Sakura.

"S-Sakura-ch-chan..."

She looked up at him with shimmery emeralds.

"A-are y-y-you okay?" he chattered.

"Y-yes, L-lee...I am s-so c-c-cold, th-though," she struggled not to stutter, but failed.

He wore one of his famous frowns in concern and held her tighter. Her own arms were around herself, knees pulled up and shivering. Lee was sitting the same way (except his arms were around her, of course) blocking her from the direction of the unmerciful wind.

"Do not worry, Sakura-chan, I will k-keep you safe and g-get you out of h-h-here..." he promised.

"L-lee...I...miss him..."

"...I kn-know, Sakura-san..." he sighed, rather put out that the conversation had reverted back to Sasuke but was patient with her all the same.

"I...think I s-still love h-him..."

"I know you do, S-Sakura-san."

"But..."

"Yes?" he asked.

"But...I also...h-hate him...does that m-make sense?"

"Yes...it is possible," he said simply.

She frowned at herself. She was so confused she had no choice but to confide in her friend.

"Lee?"

"Y-yes?"

"I...I...love you, too...does...does that make sense, either?"

He gasped, perking up in shock. She looked up at him, slowly blinking her intoxicating eyes.

He stared back, never closing his. She closed her eyes, pursed her lips and craned her neck. Surprise sprang throughout Lee as she pressed her mouth to his. At first he didn't respond, only putting up his hands in shock, then rested them on her neck under her soft pink hair and closing his half-frozen lashes. They stay locked for a few seconds, then Sakura pulled away sharply as if she regret the gesture. Lee didn't want her to feel bad for it.

"Lee...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that..." red entered her face as she mentally scolded herself, tears welling her eyes again.

"W-why not?"

"Be...because...well, I just shouldn't have, that's why!" she turned away, her face still pink and slightly warmer.

"...I understand, Sakura-chan..." he said quietly, shoulders lowering and eyes hazing over.

She still wished he didn't use that suffix on her name at times. They used chan on each other usually to play around...she had never used that on his...maybe she should...

But all the confusing thoughts that rang through her head kept her from even looking at Lee for a long while...she just had felt so weird after kissing him...she had never felt that way, before...not even when Sasuke had been around...

After another few hours of absolute cold and misery, Lee nudged Sakura's stone arm. She could barely look up to reply.

"Sakura-chan..."

She looked up at him, face expressionless through the snow that had clung to her face.

"Sakura-chan, the storm is getting worse. Soon we will freeze to death. We need to get to some better shelter."

She only agreed absent-mindedly, the cold making her quieter and less mobile.

Lee slowly stood up against the harsh winds, helping Sakura up and making sure she was snug in the now frozen jacket, then taking a feeble step on the slick, powdery ground. She followed suit, but her eyes were closed, as if she herself wasn't there. Lee had his left arm around her, the only thing keeping her from toppling over on her numb legs.

They struggled into the air, getting colder and more frozen by the second. Lee bent his head down by hers, trying desperately every way he could to keep her warm and alive. She barely seemed to notice...only taking feeble, unresponsive steps as he did.

Soon they both were covered thickly in a layer of snow and ice, Lee getting more and more desperate for a better shelter. His head waved back and forth, searching for a cave, a ditch, anything. But the only thing he saw was undergrowth and trees. He'd have to settle for that. He took her to a thick layer of brush and dug a spot for them to sit in. He gently laid her down and covered her up as best he could, then took a spot next to her, struggling to stay awake, for he knew if they went to sleep in the cold they might not wake up.

"Sakura-chan...Sakura-chan, are you awake?"

The only response she gave him was a moan. He picked up her head.

"Sakura-chan, you must stay awake! If you go to sleep you will die!"

She opened her eyes, her cold, colorless face staying empty.

"...Yes...Lee-chan..." she mumbled, closing her eyes again.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan, open your eyes so I know you're okay!" he said, urgency in his voice.

She didn't move. Lee sighed, thinking maybe he'd just let her sleep. He covered her up a little more and lay down in his own spot...and was soon fast asleep...

* * *

Sakura awoke with a jolt. Looking around, she quickly wondered where in the world she was. But she stopped thinking altogether when she saw a pile of fruit next to her, where it looked like someone had slept. She, having not eaten in hours and hours, quickly devoured it. Halfway through eating an apple, she glanced around at the white surroundings. Then it all came back to her:

She couldn't sleep,having had another nightmare about Sasuke, and went walking in the woods again. She had been pouring her heart out when Lee came around and it started snowing...bad...then they had sat there for a really long time before they...left...she couldn't really remember anything after that, though.

_Where is Lee,anyway?_

"Lee!" she called. A little rustle sounded off in a cluster of bushes,then his figure appeared. She smiled warmly.

"Ah, good. You are awake. I was beginning to wonder if I should wake you up myself. How are you?"

"Um..." she tried to get up, but just fell on her bottom again. She felt really weak...in fact...she couldn't feel anything but her arms...not her fingers...or her legs or feet or toes...

"What's wrong?"

"I...I think...I have frostbite..."

Lee perked up in alarm and quickly took her in his arms.

"You need to go see Lady Tsunade. I'll take you, just hold on!"

She just sighed and silently thanked him for his care, simultaneously cursing her helplessness.

* * *

"Lee, what's wrong?" Lady Tsunade gasped. "Lee, we've been looking for Sakura all day, ever since the storm passed this morning! Is she okay?"

"I think she has frostbite..."

"Okay, don't worry, I'll take care of it. She needs to be taken care of immediately." She took Sakura into her own arms and rushed off into an emergency room.

* * *

Sakura walked into Lee's room. He was taken by surprise. He quickly stood up from his bed and greeted her.

"S-Sakura-chan! You are out of the hospital?"

"It was only a mild case of hypothermia, Lee, they only had to keep me for a few days...I just..." she blushed and Lee was glad to see color in her cheeks. She looked off to the side and continued. "I just want to thank you...for saving my life..."

He grinned. "Anything for you, Sakura-san!"

"...yeah..." she took a step towards him. "And the flowers you left in my room every day...they were really nice..."

"Oh, yeah...I picked them from...the woods...they were the only ones that lived after the storm..."

She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Thank you, Lee-chan...also...when I was in the hospital...I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things...like Sasuke..."

Lee perked up at the mention of his name.

"Heh...yeah..." she said, noticing his surprise, and continued. "I...was thinking about...how I actually felt about him...and I thought about what you said...how I shouldn't treat him like he deserved to hurt me, when he's not even here anymore...and I decided...that he just isn't worth it anymore."

Lee looked at her emphatically, knowing how much it must hurt her to do such a thing.

"But..." she looked up again. "I was also thinking...of what I do have...what I do love..._who_ I loved..."

She took another step towards him.

"And I couldn't get you out of my mind...so I stopped trying..."

He looked at her searchingly now. She kept advancing until she was just inches from his face.

"And..." she couldn't continue. Lee had taken her in his arms again and was kissing her affectionately. Tears of joy, the first ones she had cried in a long time, streamed down her face.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything Naruto whatsoever.**

**And please review! I know that's what all fanfic authors tell ya to do,but otherwise no one thinks to and your opinion is uber valuable to me!**


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